The New York Giants defied the odds today when a last minute touchdown sealed a 17-14 win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
The thrilling victory put a stop to the Patriots unbeaten run, stopping them from becoming the first NFL team to go 19-0 in the season. And it was Giants' quarterback Eli Manning who found Plaxico Burress to secure the win in Arizona, marking New York's third Super Bowl title – the others were in 1987 and 1991.
The Patriots were by far the favorites going into the game, and were expected to make it four Super Bowl wins in seven seasons, but it was New York that clinched the victory, despite being behind until the last few minutes.
New York went into the lead in the first quarter, thanks to a 32-yard field goal from Lawrence Tynes. But then Patriots running back Laurence Maroney made it 4-3. The Patriots then took the lead on the first play of the second quarter when Maroney scored a touchdown, and then Stephen Gostkowski kicked the extra point to make it 7-3.
It wasn't until he final quarter when Kevin Boss carried for 45 yards that the Giants offence really stated to kick in, with Manning hitting David Tyree in the Patriots end zone to make it 10-7.
Then the Patriots fought back, and Randy Moss took a touchdown pass from Brady, and Gostkowski's kick made it 14-10 with less than three minutes left to play.
This seemed to breathe life into Manning, the younger brother of Colts QB Peyton, and he stepped out of his elder sibling's shadow to guide his team to victory, evading three Patriots tacklers and hurl a 32-yard pass to Tyree, who caught it above his head before Tynes kicked to make it 17-14.
"We've believed in ourselves all year and that's the position you want to be in, with a chance to win the game," said Manning.